‘On-the-spot’ cancer tests must be available on the high street to catch tumours earlier and save lives, campaigners say

CAMPAIGNERS want cancer testing on the high street to catch tumours earlier and save lives.

Pharmacists and GPs should be trained to use new quick and easy technology as it is rolled out in hospitals, charity leaders said in a letter to Rishi Sunak.

Campaigners want more cancer tests like the ‘sponge-on-a-string’ being dished out on the high street to catch tumours earlier

They called for a national screening programme for oesophageal, pancreatic, stomach, gallbladder and liver cancers to spot the diseases sooner.

Tests like the new “sponge-on-a-string” currently being trialled on the NHS should be used in the community, they said.

Writing in the letter, Julie Harrington, of Guts UK, said: “It is the UK’s best hope of saving lives that would otherwise be lost to upper gastro-intestinal cancers detected too late.

“Patients should have better access to diagnostic services. 

“That means making simple diagnostic tests available to primary care practitioners — GPs and pharmacists — and giving them the training and resources to carry them out.”

Some 9,200 Brits are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer every year in Britain, with 8,000 dying.

Symptoms include having difficulty swallowing, feeling or being sick, heartburn, acid reflux and indigestion.

Most people do not realise they have a problem until they struggle with swallowing, at which point the disease may be too advanced to treat easily, experts say.

It is usually tested for with an endoscopy — when a camera down the throat — but an NHS trial showed the sponge-on-a-string test could replace this for thousands of patients.

They take the test by swallowing a pill containing a sponge on a string, which expands in the stomach and is then pulled back up the throat to take a sample of cells.

It has been given to 8,500 people in England already and NHS boss Amanda Pritchard said they can “conveniently fit the test into their day”.

Charities are now calling for it to be rolled out more widely across the NHS and at GPs and pharmacists.

The letter was also signed by Mimi McCord, of Heartburn Cancer UK, Jill Clark, of Action Against Heartburn, and Marcel Gehrung, Cyted — which makes the test.

Ms McCord said: “The time to act is now. Capsule sponge testing has shown that it works and should be readily available to everyone across the country. 

“Rolling this out to GP surgeries, community diagnostic hubs and eventually pharmacies will save lives.”

Mr Gehrung added: “Our technology has been proven to cut waiting lists, save money and get patients an earlier diagnosis to prevent cancer. 

“We need to act now to roll out our EndoSign capsule sponge test across the whole health system so this impact can be felt across the country.”